Aston Villa pulled the curtain down on a largely forgettable first season in the Championship by preventing Brighton from claiming the league title.

Jack Grealish’s late curler gift-wrapped the Championship crown to Newcastle United as Villa claimed a share of the spoils against the Seagulls.

And, despite the injuries to key trio Alan Hutton, Mile Jedinak and Jonathan Kodjia, Villa showed plenty of heart to partly repair the damage of a dismal showing at Blackburn Rovers last week.

Here are our findings from the final game of the Championship campaign.

Work to do

Steve Bruce is only too aware of the huge rebuilding job that remains to be done at Villa Park. His team put in one of their better performances against Brighton but promotion will not be won at Villa Park next season.

A Premier League return is only possible if Villa sort out their wretched away form. Promoted duo Newcastle and Brighton have collected 46 and 39 points, respectively, on their travels this season while Villa have amassed just 18.

Another summer of upheaval isn’t on the agenda. Bruce will make small changes here and there to create a team that Villa fans can be proud of.

“I have got to have a squad of players that are going to mount a challenge, otherwise I’ll not be sitting here,” Bruce said. “Quite simple.”

Striker needed

Scott Hogan’s latest setback means that Villa are without their three senior strikers as they all battle ankle injuries.

19-goal top scorer Kodjia will miss the start of next season, while Gabby Agbonlahor also rolled his ankle during training last week.

Villa were already in the hunt for attacking reinforcements but they are now in desperate need of a new striker.

Ross McCormack will return but faces a long summer of fitness work and rehabilitation to shake off his issues, while Rushian Hepburn-Murphy has also been struggling with injuries of late.

At the moment, only Kodjia is a constant source of goals and Villa are without him for potentially six months. Someone needs to arrive to share the load.

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The kids are ace

Keinan Davis replaced Hogan at the end of the first-half today and caught his manager’s eye with an impressive showing in just his seventh senior outing.

Davis has pace, power and skill to trouble opposing defenders and was too hot to handle for Brighton defender Lewis Dunk at times in the second-half.

He skinned his marker before being brought down for what Bruce is convinced should have been a penalty and he could have snatched three points at the death after running away from Brighton’s back four but his tame effort didn't live up to what had gone before it.

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Davis, along with Hepburn-Murphy, Andre Green, Jordan Lyden, Callum O’Hare and a few others, are in Bruce’s first team thinking now as a new wave of Bodymoor Heath graduates prop up the first team.

“The young lads we’ve got, I’m encouraged by that. I’m encouraged by Hepburn-Murphy and I’m encouraged by [Andre] Greeny and Keinan can obviously add to it.”

Finding their feet

Villa fans hadn’t seen the best of Conor Hourihane or Henri Lansbury before today - and they still haven’t - but the signs are positive.

Hourihane played in a deeper role than usual, similar to the one he excelled in for Barnsley in the first half of the season, while Lansbury played further forward as he had done with Nottingham Forest.

Both of Villa’s January recruits were able to demonstrate the credentials that earned them their big moves. Long may it continue.